Engineers working at Kytra and Fort Augustus have recently encountered some unexpected issues which will cause a delay in the reopening of the canal. The Caledonian Canal is now scheduled to re-open at 8:30 on Wednesday 17th of April 2019.

Young archivists gain valuable experience at Ballast Trust

Scottish Canals are very excited to be working in partnership with The Ballast Trust to offer work experience placements for Information Management and Preservation students at the University of Glasgow. The students, under the guidance of The Ballast Trust Archivist Kiara King, are cataloguing and repackaging a collection of hand written papers from Scottish Canals’ very own collections. The collection includes late 18th and early 19th century correspondence, legal papers, and other documents relating to the Forth and Clyde and Monkland Canals. This was an exciting period in the history of canals in Scotland, contemporary with their planning, design and construction. It is hoped that by studying these papers we will be able to gain valuable insight into the very early history of the lowland canals.

The placements, running for the first two weeks of November, were hosted by The Ballast Trust at their offices in Johnstone. The Ballast Trust are specialists in technical records who provide advice, cataloguing, appraisal, and rescue services to business archives. Kiara King, The Ballast Trust Archivist, said: “This project offers a fantastic opportunity for the students to gain valuable hands on experience of working with archive collections that they can take on into their professional careers.”

At the end of the project the collection will be sent to National Records of Scotland for long-term preservation and care, where it will also be made available to the public. Anyone wishing to view Scottish Canals’ records deposited with National Records of Scotland can do so by contacting the National Records of Scotland enquiries team.

Scottish Canals is also seeking volunteers to assist with similar projects. If you are interested in volunteering with us then please get in touch via enquiries@scottishcanals.co.uk